Chimurenga Singles, 1976-1980

Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited

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The Lion of Zimbabwe Roars Here

Hearing Thomas Mapfumo's passionately sung missives one after the other is a little like watching a film montage of newspaper headlines flashing across the screen. They chronicle the tumult in Zimbabwe during the 1970s: The singer and songwriter grew up in an area where revolution against the white minority government was coalescing. Mapfumo began recording songs that spoke about governmental corruption and neglect. Eventually, with sharp-tongued missives like "Mothers, Send Your Sons to War," his rhetoric escalated into direct calls for violent action.

Before long, Mapfumo's music became a key part of the revolution—he called the sound "chimurenga," which means "struggle" in the Shona language—and used his songs to rally a growing revolutionary movement. Much of what he talks about on these singles became part of (or echoed) ideas in public discourse, and when Robert Mugabe was elected in 1980, Mapfumo went from being an enemy of the state to a folk hero, sharing the stage at a celebratory concert with Bob Marley. (He's since been critical of the Mugabe government.)

Mapfumo's music is modern, often utilizing a Western-style drum kit and (occasionally) a horn section. But it carries distinct traces of traditional Shona songs—on some pieces here, the electric guitar outlines the cyclical patterns of the Shona mbira (a kalimba-like instrument with forged metal keys). The rhythms just simmer along, a steady mesmeric backing that contrasts with Mapfumo's riveting gut-level exhortations. The revolution that inspired these songs is in the past. But Mapfumo's sense of indignation, and his knack for speaking truth to power, makes the music eternal—the rare case where a musician starts out trying to galvanize a specific audience and winds up with something strong enough to hit everybody.

Genre: World, Zimbabwe
Released: 1989, Shanachie. (Recorded between 1976 and 1980.)
Key Tracks: "Kwaedza mu Zimbabwe," "Nyarai," "Munhu mutema"
Next Stop: Salif Keita: Soro
Book Page: 473

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